Put your hands up if you are tired of all the negativity in the forum

I'm trying to stay out of the political forum until at least after Christmas. I am also resolving to not give in to negativity in the new year. Life is much too short for fussing and fighting my friend... Now if only I could block seeing the topic headings.

Ten thousand applauses. Life is indeed too short and there are so many more taxing issues in the world such as homelessness, unemployment, abused children, and hungry people througout the world and in the United States to be thinking about this. To each his/her own as long as no one gets hurt in the process.

@LiamBean- I am an Atheist who celebrates Christmas, not warring Christmas, I have no problem with that or Yule. I would prefer that it stay off of gov't property. I just have too many other more important issues on my plate. If you have relationships and money, then, holidays are wonderful, I am all bah humbug for entirely differant reasons. There is nothing wrong with pretty colors, lights, songs, and Santa Clause. It does not matter what religion or culture you belong to, this is global. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you and all, Happy Yule, and New Years, and peace out.

I agree. You have to remember other cultures celebrate Christmas, too, even though that aren't predominately Christian! I believe it is more than just a religious holiday, at least to a lot of people! Christmas is a time of year for everyone who wants to celebrate it!

Sometimes I think we are on the verge of a whole new civil war, except the word "civil" should probably be excluded because some posters are anything but.

I've participated in some really good debates, but it only takes one cretin to ruin the whole thing. These forums would be much better served if the person who starts the topic had the power to remove derogatory content.

Rise above it all uninvited. Some people just like to spread their nastiness and negativity. Sometimes, it seems, that all the fun of hub pages just gets sucked out by a few miserable so and so's. But there are plenty of really funny talented people out there. And of course Mark Knowles who cracks me up, no matter how negative he gets.

My hand's up, can you see it? I agree. I think political battles are wonderful, but not on HP, which is designed as a "community." There are endless forums on the Internet where you can slug it out with your opponents to your heart's content.

Perhaps, you're not seeing it as a wonderful opportunity to laugh at those who are fighting and fussing over politics. Sometimes, one can pretend they're just talking a stroll through Hyde Park, if you get my drift.

Helpful? I don't know how anyone is particularly helpful in these forums, outside of forum sections intended for users to get help about writing hubs.

I don't see how engaging in meaningless discussion and debates is at all helpful. If you post a topic about something, and someone posts and opinion, whether in agreement or disagreement, it's not helpful. The only thing I can see as remotely being helpful is perhaps entertaining us for five or so minutes. And the posts that disagree? Why even bother? In all likelihood, it pisses off the topic-starter. Best case scenario, it gets ignored. Likely scenario? It fuels the fire of debate.

So no, these forums and their users aren't "helpful." In fact, here I am, fueling the fire of debate. Awesome. But these "helpful" comments is what fuels the negativity here.

Perhaps people need to be more mindful of how there is no need to share your opinion just because you happen to have one. It doesn't matter how "courteous" you are with what you say to people, it can (and will) still piss them off. Some people come on here just to vent, and it doesn't matter how nicely (or rudely) you say something; you're still saying it.

Quilligrapher is a woman? Sorry Q. ed: Nope, that's not it.OK, I think I see where the confusion is coming from UW, another poster earlier referred to You as a 'he', now with this comment tagged on to my previous comment, looks like I was referring to you. The ink is so light on the 'replied to' section, hard to see.

I wish we could filter the forums so we only see the topics we want to see. I would ALWAYS filter out the religious and political forums. I find many of the topic headings to be offensive. I respect that people are free to say and discuss what they wish. I'd just prefer not to have to see it.

Good heavens, did everyone miss the title of this post? Why does it always have to revert to something negative. Oh and yes the posting author can "deny" a response on their question if they want to, I have done it when the reply was off content or offensive.

Now then on to pleasantries, lately the only shows watched on TV are comedies or Christmas singing and stories, sports are a good choice too. We are back to reading books and magazines that promote art or hobbies, my latest hobby being beer making is quite refreshing...When friends or relatives ask about what is going on with the government, just like in the 1950's and 60's we just state that we don't talk about politics or religion. But we have some good food recipes to discuss.

So, have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year, also note any cynical postings will be ignored and deleted.

I have been on Hubpages only for a few months. At the beginning, I was willing to jump in pretty much any kind of debate, especially those on topics that sometimes infuriated me. I guess with time I have acquired some badly needed wisdom, as I have come to the conclusion that debating, like any other human activity, is not for everybody. It takes a special open mind to tolerate that others might think differently (and accept it!). It takes humility to recognise that whatever our opinion might be on anything, we may ultimately be wrong. It takes vision to accept that some subjects will not be resolved in our lifetime, if ever (hunger, poverty, religion, abortion, etc...) So, I restrained myself, and it wasn't easy. As much as the world and its people interest me, I have become more selective with what I wish to debate about and who I want to do it with. There are enough people on a mission here on HP, and I am not and will not be one of them. But in the end, and concentrating on the positivity, this is a great community of all kinds of writers whose creativity and talent never ceases to amaze me. So as Wilderness righfully pointed out, Santa is watching and we don't want to find nothing under the tree on Christmas morning, so we better behave! Happy Holidays to all in the Hubpages community.

It would be good if Hub Pages would put the more volatile and personal topics, like politics and religion out of the main feed! The other negative posts, especially complaints about Hub Pages, are part of a healthy forum. They at least address topics that apply to business here.

I agree UW, It is high time to let positive thoughts, love and encouragement be the rule! I have learned from many in which I disagree, but we can learn nothing from one another when close-minded hate speech rules the forums. Negativity never leads to progress or solutions.

Hate speech is fighting and calling names, acting like a child, offering no proof or solutions, only creating negative energy...Stating negative, biased opinions and representing such as facts,etc, etc....I have seen a lot of that, but mostly during the election.

No, completely untrue...I can have disagreements with people and still learn from them. I do not believe I know everything there is to know, nor ever will, and I enjoy the journey of learning along the way...I am also able to disagree with someone by using facts and never stuping to being hateful, or calling names:)

You could learn something from Tammy, Repairguy. She never launches insults, she's too bright to label a whole bunch of people as either libs, or repubs- She's a thinker, often underestimates herself whilst giving the benefit of the doubt to people who couldn't lay a glove on her intellectually. And then, she gets chased by uneducated, foolish trolls who work for 50c a post.

Repairguy47: What she's is basically saying is telling lies and calling people names for insisting on the truth. So yes, in that she disagrees with lies and childish behavior and calls that hate speech.

I have a simpler definition. Presenting yourself as better than others based on your gender, skin color, or political affiliation OR promoting denying others the very rights you have based on these three conditions, and expressing your views as right or fact, makes you a hate speaker.

Now I've read your posts before Repairguy so I already knew you met this definition.

So many personal attacks on the anti-negativity thread, and you claim I'm angry and bored? Its interesting that you actually attack anyone while claiming that I am flinging excrement, you understand that I haven't attacked anyone here...don't you? Perfect example of liberal hypocrisy.

Unfortunately, not attacking others will not allways prevent some others from attacking you, as the problem doesn't lie with responsible, open minded people, bust most often with self righteous, narrow minded individuals.

Expressing an opinion is often all it takes to be called every name in the book including Communist and Socialist thought those terms are clearly not familiar or even well understood by the person launching the attack.

You guessed it Liam - too busy not writing because of always sleezing through the forums looking to start a fight. I know from experience. Trust me, he's not worth the effort of punching the keys on your keyboard.

I prefer to voice my thoughts without attacking others. I think respect is the name of the game. If someone is unhappy or needs guidance with HP and there's a real issue, that's worth discussing and addressing. If it's just a personal political fight, that belongs elsewhere and hurts the community when it's here in the main feed. I like to be positive minded.

I would raise my hand, but I need both to type my scathing rebuttals.Seriously, philosophically I totally agree with you, UW.Civility and kindness are great goals for all in 2013.Practically speaking, if you withdraw, there goes 60 percent of our argument!Pleez... don't leave us! We need you!!!!

What I did on G+ today was create a futurist community for a post-labor economy. It comprises futurists, social scientists, and people who aren't so interested in politics and whose side is where. It's a whole new ball game - and it works!

That's why I kind of quit. I'll log into this site a couple times a week to check my articles, but that's it.

The forums drove me away. Too easy to get pissed off or be pissed off at others.

Then I was banned randomly for 3 days, and a week later I managed to get a vague response from staff saying it was a "personal attack," though no indication as to what post was particularly "against the rules" (I don't recall intending to 'personally attack' anyone, by the way).

So yeah, negativity in the forums, plus the staff, drove me away. Funny how I managed to stay at a "90" with such little activity over the past weeks, too >_>

See? I'd like to put this post under the noses of staff to demonstrate why the HubPages-related forums should be separated from the Topic forums. When I first joined HubPages, they were separate and I enjoyed the forums blissfully unaware of the political and religious sections.

Today, even though I've made a resolution not to visit them, the threads are so "in your face" it's sometimes hard to resist the temptation - and I always regret it. I wish there was an easy way to block them out.

Yeah. I made it a point to ignore my feed all together, and 'unsubscribe' from all forum posts. I just logged in, checked the right side for new comments, and left.

This forum topic, however, was right on the top. And I felt I had to reply. It seems I am not the only one who has gotten a bad taste in their mouth because of the forum. The forum is just...not worth the time. Already I feel like I've wasted 5 minutes replying here, but hopefully the staff will see my posts and others' and make some changes. Hell, it was enough to drive me, a fairly successful and established user, away. Imagine how many others are being driven off?

You didn't have to reply is the thing (if it was really a waste of 5 of your minutes, don't bother- it's easy). I actually appreciate this man's opinion. It's refreshing to see number the people who agree.

What gave you the impression to felt that I was forced to reply? I stated that I felt spending time responding to the negative posts was a waste of time, and, clearly it is. By the way, I agree with many of the posts in this forum as well.

But seeing as the spirit of this "anti-negative-debate" thread is full of debate, I'll just click 'unfollow' and quit responding. Happy? Perhaps someone else would be glad to debate

Speed reading is not the word for it when I come to these long marathon chats. I think it had something to do with all the negativity going on. Fortunately, I have not been dragged down into it yet. This last year, Facebook, FB for short, bottomed out, went sour on me. Actually, I was banned off of Atheist Nexus first. This is not the first time I have been rejected by my own people. I am one of Christendom's rejects. In the process of time, I could not get along with, okay, I am going to keep it somewhat mild here, but whole demographic groups, and I could not get along with anyone. I was getting into trouble on FB, recieving threat letters, and getting put on 24 hour blocks. I am in danger of losing FB permanantly, and planning to shut it down. I really wanted to intentionally make HubPages, HP for short, go a lot better. This is professional here, business. I cannot lose this. I also got a Linked In place, and decided, that is strictly lawyer professional behavior. I tend to be an on line partier, I like to get wild, but I also get dragged into the undertow of all the drama-trauma. I have strong political beliefs that are very unpopular these days. I am an odd ball who does not fit in any where, storie of my life. Well, I want to not get into all of that on HP, fortuantely have not gotten dragged into the undertow yet. I am a professional writer on here. Not sure how to salvage FB and my other online personages. But when you go HP, you go public, you are out there on Google. Google yourself and see what pops up, you are out there for millions globally to see. So, there is a fine line between drama-trauma, getting wild, partieing, and pretending lawyer, journalist, professional, writer or whatever. And there is probably going to be a fine line about presenting a lot of important issues I need to get out there which are all very unpopular. Well, enough here, good night, all. Happy Holidays, Merrry Christmas, Hannaukah, New years, Blessed Yule, one and all, blessed be, and peace out I am outta here.

Yes, HP should implement a forum filter in which we can block topics, threads. It would be nice.

On the other hand, I don't let the negativity get to me. Some threads I simply won't open if I see that particularly negative posters started the thread. I know there will be no real discussion because they're started to instigate rather than debate or discuss. That's child's play.

Well, the wonderful news is that my Futurist Trend community on G+ has completely removed us from left and right politics and we can just examine what is happening and how to move on. As we've all got a fair amount of knowledge and we're all rational thinkers using analysis, it's an exubertant experience. When something isn't logical, we can point out the errors, and instead of being told we're stupid, liberal, GOP, or any other name calling, we can just adjust and get on with figuring out new systems of government. It's great!

So I guess I've found my niche and won't be involved in the ugly political forums over here anymore.

I should have known better, I have tried this before and always gotten attacked for it.

KathleenKat, this is twice you have told me that "there is no need to share your opinion"

I just want to be able to ignore the negative political and religious threads... on all sides of the political spectrum but I guess since you can't do it here. I'll just try to avoid looking at the forum thread titles.

I'm glad you share your opinion too, UV, HP is enriched for it. You know, when someone wants to silence you, it's usually because they can't produce an effective counter argument- or, they're just arguing for the sake of it. That's their problem- NOT yours.

Back after a three day ban. Wow, I wonder who I upset. I can't imagine who it might have been.

First time for everything I suppose. I've been here almost five years and that's the first time I've been banned. And I didn't even use four letter words.

I've decided that I will limit my forum participation to rooting out and getting rid of trolls. You know, the kind that publish one hub and spend all their time stirring up everyone else in the forums.

I can't imagine why you would have been banned. My understanding is that for the most part one isn't likely to be banned unless somebody rats you out. The moderators don't have time to read all the comments looking for personal attacks. I've been called names several times by someone who's never, to my knowledge, been banned, I assume because I haven't bothered to report him. I agree with HP's objective of encouraging fact-based, intelligent, respectful discussion.

I got banned on FB for 24 hours, had several posts and comments removed, and threats for shut down, mutually and reciprocal. When your a conservative republican, nobody likes you, and when your also an Atheist, nobody likes you, and if your both, God help you, "God help you", lol, because, "we do not have a prayer," lol, "God help us we do not even have a prayer" lol or a snowballs chance in Hell, Merry Christmas yaw'll. P.S. I got absolutely zero friends, I live all alone in a godless universe, and it is getting pretty cold out here.

Okay, I have broken my pledge already and gotten caught up in gun debates. But nothing is ever solved and people keep a conversation going because they must have the last word. I am just as much to blame for that. Anyway, I seriously have to take time away from this forum for a while.

Things like what happened in Newtown shows me that society has to change and to me part of that must be to start caring more about people we don't know and working towards the change we want to see. Petty political arguments are just that... petty, useless and a waste of energy. Like Buffalo Springfield said " paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep, it starts when your always afraid, step out of line the man come and take you away." I will not live like that. I know... let's all sing Kumbaya...

Don't watch the news! Isn't it a shame that multi billion dollar industries like news media are constantly looking for more and more sensationalistic bad news issues so that you will go and watch their news channel. Which of course makes us more depressed and cynical. Back before TV started to overload us with bad news, we were content with only what was going on in our small local world.

Bad news and sensationalism draws eyes. More watchers means more advertisers get their ads seen. More views means more ad dollars to the broadcaster. What's the best way to get more viewers?

Social media needs to come into play. Viewers need to insist on less speculation and more factual reporting. Stop the wild speculation and innuendo. It helps no one and the constant stress is taking its toll on all of us.

I have been sort of sifting through peoples comments and have to bring up about the overwhelming negativity. The general mood around hub pages has turned rather dismal. I am a member on several gamming sites, and those...

Hi fellow Hubbers! I've been hubbing here at HubPages since year 2010 and I just can't believe that I haven't earn anything from my published articles since then, not a single cent! There's obviously something wrong....

I would wipe off especially the religion topic as I hate religion big time and wish it never existed.I would abolish the 3day ban rule and opt for just deleting personal attack comments.I would chose to pay members who...

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Do you often visit the forums and why?I sometimes visit the forums here, and whenever I do, I wish I hadn't... There is so much negative stuff there, and very few people in forums are interested in communicating in a...